By Ellen Daniels-Howell | Project Leader
One of the joys of running a program designed to empower young women to follow their dreams and reach their full potential is that we get to witness it happening! Carolyne is one of the remarkable young women who has been participating in GET UP programs for the last two years. Read a bit about her story:
Carolyne's father died when she was very young. "I don't even remember how my Dad looked. I was only five then and I knew very little." Her mother survived, but struggled to provide for Carolyne and her three siblings Collins, Monicah, and Ausler. To help her mother out, Carolyne's Aunt Rose took young Carolyne in, and in her new primary school Carolyne became part of the Umoja Project's extended family. With support from Umoja, Carolyne performed very well in school and is now in her final year of high school.
However, back at home her brother Collins was not doing well. Although he too had worked hard and done well in school, he had fallen ill with a serious condition which doctors have not been able to diagnose. Collins is so debilitated by the mysterious illness he is confined to home and has had to drop out of school. Carolyne says, "I stay with my Aunt, and I am privileged to have come this far in my schooling of all my siblings. But my brother's sorry state wears me out. I attend GET UP events that I may attain a high score to present it as a gift to my brother Collins. He cannot pursue studies because of his condition. I want to do it for him."
On a recent school break, Carolyne and the other GET UP girls in their final year of high school attended tutoring and mentoring sessions to help them prepare for the national exam they will take in November. The girls want to do well on the exam, so they are eligible for further studies at the university level. Carolyne completed the GET UP sessions with renewed determination to perform well for her brother.
"I want to be a doctor in the future," she says with a sparkle in her eyes. She laughs, as a teacher reminds her of how far she has come and how much farther she is capable of going.
Your support for young women like Carolyne is having a transformative effect on their lives! We are deeply grateful for your commitment for GET UP's programs and the girls it serves.
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